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Roosevelt Man Receives Prison Time for Fatal Crash that Killed Girlfriend on her 25th Birthday

Diamond Hawkins was a passenger in a new car her grandmother bought her when she was killed

MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a Roosevelt man was sentenced today to four to 12 years in prison for a fatal car crash in Hempstead on Nov. 21, 2015, in which the defendant’s girlfriend was killed.

Horace Cummings, 34, pleaded guilty in front of Supreme Court Justice Robert McDonald on February 22 to Manslaughter in the 2nd Degree (a C felony), Reckless Endangerment in the 2nd Degree (an A misdemeanor) and Driving while Ability Impaired by Combined Influence of Alcohol and Drugs (an unclassified misdemeanor).

“Diamond Hawkins turned 25 years old and lost her life on her birthday because her boyfriend, Horace Cummings, drove while he was impaired by alcohol and drugs and crashed the new car that she had just received from her family as a gift,” DA Singas said. “This tragic case should remind everyone that you must be careful about who you are trusting with your life when you enter a car as a passenger.”

DA Singas said that on Nov. 21, 2015, at approximately 2:40 a.m., the defendant was impaired by drugs and alcohol when he operated a 2015 Nissan Altima in Hempstead. Cummings crossed over the center line on Front Street and the car collided head on with another vehicle driving eastbound. Cummings’ passenger and girlfriend, Diamond Hawkins, was killed in the collision. Cummings told the police that his young victim had actually been the driver. The victim had just turned 25 years old and was given the Altima as a birthday gift. The defendant suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while the driver of the other car was uninjured.

Cummings was later indicted and surrendered to the Nassau County Police Department on Aug. 8.